Working days calculator: business days between two dates

How the count works

The rule is the one most payroll and project tools use: take every day after the start date up to and including the end date, keep the Mondays to Fridays, then subtract any that appear in the selected holiday list. Turn on 'include start day' when the start date itself should count, for example the first day of a contract. A holiday on a Saturday or Sunday is already excluded by the weekend rule; what matters is the weekday it is observed on, which is why the US table shows Independence Day 2026 as Friday July 3 and the Korean table lists substitute days.

Formula, for checking: working days = weekdays in the span − weekday holidays in the span. A span that is a multiple of 7 days can be checked by hand: 112 days is 16 weeks and always holds 80 weekdays whatever day it starts on; 35 days is 5 weeks and 25 weekdays.

US federal holidays 2026

The eleven federal holidays are set by 5 U.S.C. § 6103 and published each year by the Office of Personnel Management. A holiday on a Saturday is observed the Friday before; on a Sunday, the Monday after. Banks follow the Federal Reserve calendar, which matches this list. The stock market does not: the NYSE closes on Good Friday (April 3, 2026) but stays open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day.

Korean public holidays 2026

Korean public holidays come from the Regulation on Public Holidays of Government Offices, kept by the Ministry of Personnel Management, and since 2022 they are paid days off in every workplace with five or more employees. Substitute holidays apply when March 1, Buddha's Birthday, Children's Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, Hangul Day or Christmas falls on a weekend, and when Seollal or Chuseok overlaps a Sunday or another holiday; New Year's Day and Memorial Day get none. 2026 also has a nationwide local election on Wednesday June 3, a public holiday under the Public Official Election Act.

Worked examples

October 1 to October 31, 2026 (US): 30 days after the start date, 21 of them weekdays; Columbus Day on Monday October 12 comes off, leaving 20 working days. September 4 to December 25, 2026 (US): 112 days, 80 weekdays, minus Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day itself, giving 75. September 4 to October 9, 2026 (Korea): 35 days, 25 weekdays, minus Chuseok on Thursday and Friday September 24–25, the substitute holiday on Monday October 5 and Hangul Day on Friday October 9, giving 21. An end date that is a holiday is removed, as in the last example.

What 'business days' means in practice

Shipping estimates like '5–7 business days' mean weekdays that are not carrier holidays; USPS follows the federal list exactly and UPS and FedEx come close. Bank transfers settle on Federal Reserve business days, so an ACH payment sent the Friday before Labor Day lands on Tuesday. Deadlines have their own rule: under US federal and most state court rules, a deadline landing on a weekend or holiday rolls to the next business day, and Korea's Civil Act Article 161 does the same for a period ending on a Saturday or public holiday. Korean payroll treats Saturday as an unpaid day off and Sunday as the paid weekly rest day, so 'working days' in a Korean contract almost always means Monday to Friday minus public holidays, the count this tool gives.

Limits of this calculator

Only national calendars are included. US state holidays such as Patriots' Day in Massachusetts or Good Friday in a dozen states are not subtracted, nor are company floating holidays or the day after Thanksgiving. Korea sometimes declares temporary holidays on short notice, as it did for January 27 and October 10, 2025; those appear only once the list is updated. Half days count as full working days. For other countries, choose 'weekdays only' and subtract local holidays by hand.

Frequently asked questions

How many working days are there in 2026?

2026 has 261 weekdays. Removing the 11 US federal holidays, all on weekdays in 2026, leaves 250. On the Korean calendar 14 weekday holidays, including substitutes and the June 3 election, leave 247.

Does the count include the start date?

Not by default: it counts days after the start date through the end date, matching 'N business days from today'. Turn on 'include start day' if the first day should count.

Is Saturday a working day?

No. Saturday and Sunday are the weekend in both calendars, matching US and Korean five-day work weeks. For six-day operations, add the Saturdays back by hand.

What is the difference between working days and business days?

In everyday use they are the same: weekdays that are not public holidays. Some industries narrow it, for example banking days or NYSE trading days, which also exclude Good Friday.

Are substitute holidays included?

Yes. The US list uses the observed date (July 3, 2026 for Independence Day) and the Korean list includes the 2026 substitute days on March 2, May 25, August 17 and October 5.

Where do the holiday dates come from?

US dates from the Office of Personnel Management's 2026 schedule under 5 U.S.C. § 6103; Korean dates from the Ministry of Personnel Management's public holiday regulation and the National Election Commission's 2026 election date.